Decentralization in Ethiopia and Nigeria: Authority and Accountability - Research Paper Example

In the African context, decentralization has been done progressively and unevenly, both in the scope and aspects of decentralization adopted (Adeyeye, 2006). Of the three aspects of decentralization, for instance, fiscal decentralization has been the least implemented while political and administrative decentralization is adopted more in several African countries. This variability in the implementation of each of the facets of decentralization can be observed to be as a result of a number of factors.

The advanced political decentralization is on account of the widespread political liberation and reforms that occurred around the continent in the 1990s. Administrative decentralization, on the other hand, can be attributed to the fact that it remained the preferred pathway to decentralization, owing to the simplicity of implementation and it also favored the motives of some of the politicians in power. Fiscal decentralization lags behind as most central governments are reluctant to let go of the management of the country’s budget and give local administrations a small proportion of the national expenditure to manage.

Since political decentralization is the primary focus of this paper, two major aspects are going to be considered: accountability and authority. This is because the two are indicators of political decentralization, and an analysis of both provides a clear picture of the extent of decentralization in the study country.Accountability is the extent to which a local government has to explain or justify its actions and this can either be upward (local governments accountable to the central government) or downward (local administrations answerable to the population).

The most commonly adopted and powerful type of accountability is through local elections although when used in conjunction with other mechanisms, it can have a greater influence on the local government. Authority, on the other hand, describes the decision-making powers that have been bestowed on a local government. Without the necessary powers, local administrations are not able to deliver the benefits of the decentralization process to the community as consultation with the central government is usually required.

The ideal political decentralization scenario occurs when local administrations have adequate powers to implement changes in the society and are accountable to the population (downward accountability). However, this situation is rarely applied in full measure in most countries that claim to have a devolved or decentralized system such as Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, and Ethiopia among others (Ayee, 2004).